December 5, 2014

Shanghai Disney Resort revealed today that a construction milestone has been reached. The mountain structure for Roaring Rapids has its peak installed, as you can see in the picture below. It is interesting to note that this "mountain" will be the highest among mountains in Pudong area, but the second highest structure in the park. The highest will be Storybook Castle.

Roaring Rapids is the name of the river rapids ride at Adventure Isle of Shanghai Disneyland. It is rumored to feature animatronic dinosaurs which makes it the most anticipated attraction of mine!!!

Please leave a comment below if you notice anything interesting in this image!

December 3, 2014

After I finished my exams in the university, I went back to my hometown Hangzhou (Zhejiang, China) to take a break from studies. Right now it is the start of the winter, while autumn leaves can still be seen around the city. The nice blending of green, yellow and red makes it look really beautiful.

The following pictures are taken around the West Lake, the lake that inspired numerous Chinese literature, poets and stories.

October 14, 2014

Today I was delighted to find this news article by Los Angeles Times about the new Universal Studios opening in Beijing in 2019. The project has been in development for quite some time and it is nice to see it finally getting a proper announcement. You may read the full article here: Universal Studios to open Beijing theme park in 2019
With the announcement and press conference, a concept art for the park has also been released and it contains some really interesting details. Let's take a look.

UPDATE: Thank you, Alain from Disney & More. I have updated the post with much clearer pictures.

September 20, 2014

It was a very cheerful show, and younger guests seemed to love it. But for me, it was a bit disappointing. The show basically is just one song and is very much similar to the street performance version of the same song.

I hope that this is just a filler before the park gets its second actual musical. (How about the 30-version of Wicked, which was played at USJ for some time?)

September 16, 2014

I have reported that Shanghai Disney Resort Float was going to appear in Shanghai Tourism Festival Parade 2014. Yes, it was! And now we have some photos of the actual float, thanks to DFDAILY.COM and NEWS.CN!

September 4, 2014

Each year at Shanghai Tourism Festival, there will be a parade celebrating the sights and attractions of the region. Companies will each produce a float to join the parade, and this year for the first time, Shanghai Disney Resort will be among the 22 companies that will participate in it!

August 28, 2014

After my summer internship at Walt Disney Shanghai, I am happy to be back in Singapore and continue my university studies. But before being occupied by all the school work, I dropped by Universal Studios Japan in Osaka to visit the Japan's version of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (ウィザーディング・ワールド・オブ・ハリー・ポッター) which opened on July 15. Please join me to check out this amazing land and get to know how it is different from the US version.

The following is a grand plan for Shanghai Disney Resort from 2011 to 2030. The resort's future seems to be very well planned already.

The plan gives us an idea about how the resort will develop through the years. Here I would like to elaborate on each of the three phases.

Phase 1 - Infrastructure (2011-2015)
As you can tell from the time period, this phase is basically the construction of the theme park, the two hotels, "Downtown Disney" (it might not be named this way) and other basic functions.

Phase 2 - Combining Functions (2016-2020)
I am not sure if I understand it correctly. In the Chinese text, it says "Continue to develop the theme park", which, I assume, means expansion, and "Finish constructing the facilities", which, I assume, means other facilities around the resort.

Phase 3 - Improving the Resort (2021-2030)
In this phase, they will try to improve the integration of the resort and other nearby facilities, perhaps those that are marked dark yellow in the picture below.

As we all know, Shanghai Disneyland will have a Shopping / Dining / Entertainment area similar to Downtown Disney when it opens. However, recently I discovered that besides that, there will be another shopping area in the resort.

This second shopping area will be named "Yi Ou Lai Shopping Village", and it is developed by Shendi Company (which owns and operates the resort) and Value Retail. I have also found a construction plan for this shopping village.Unlike Downtown Disney, it seems that this area will not feature a Disney theme, but more of a European style established by the company "Value Retail".

May 29, 2014

In this curious issue of "This Week in USS", let us take a look at something amazing happening atBattlestar Galactica.

Battlestar Galactica is a dueling coaster here in USS. It is probably the most intense ride in the park. However, due to reasons unknown, the ride has been closed since last year. There are rumors about the fate of this coaster, such as being re-designed or being re-themed.

Today when I went to the park, I was surprised to see that a construction area appeared at the entrance to the HUMAN(red) side.

May 24, 2014

Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida is about to open very soon. Though it may not be coming to USS any time soon, there is indeed another "alley" in USS as well. This elegantly designed alley is in the New York zone, and is one of my favorite spots in the park.

April 15, 2014

Minion Mart was a surprise for me when I visited USS last weekend. I am not sure when this was opened, but it seems that the Park has been adding quite a few Minion Elements. Hopefully an attraction as well?

Today, as part of The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger unveiled creative details including the first-ever Pirates-themed land and a new Pirates of the Caribbean attraction designed for the Shanghai Disney Resort.

This land will be named "Treasure Cove" (in Chinese: 宝藏湾). For the first time ever, a Disney Park will be home to a Pirates-themed land and an e-ticket attraction called Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle of the Sunken Treasure (in Chinese: 加勒比海盗：沉没宝藏之战). The attraction will feature a combination of new technology and innovation to bring guests along a pirate adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Davy Jones, providing our guests who visit the Shanghai Disneyland Park an experience unlike anything else in the world.

Together with the artwork, Disney also released a construction photo showing what looks like the structure for Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle of the Sunken Treasure.

March 3, 2014

"Random Blends 2014: CALIBR8" is a free exhibition held by Communication and New Media Department of National University of Singapore. From 1 to 6 March, you can visit the galleries in ArtScience Museum to view the selected project works by CNM students.

I am fortunate enough to have my works featured in the exhibition. Here is a report from the opening day of the exhibit.